Chondroitin for Osteoarthritis of the Knee or Hip

Abstract

Letters18 December 2007Chondroitin for Osteoarthritis of the Knee or HipHarley Goldberg, DO, Andrew Avins, MD, and Stephen Bent, MDHarley Goldberg, DOFrom Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA, 94612; and San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94121.Search for more papers by this author, Andrew Avins, MDFrom Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA, 94612; and San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94121.Search for more papers by this author, and Stephen Bent, MDFrom Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, CA, 94612; and San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94121.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-147-12-200712180-00013 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Reichenbach and colleagues' meta-analysis on chondroitin for osteoarthritis of the knee or hip (1) is both timely and important. However, we are concerned that the authors' sweeping conclusions are not well grounded in their methodology.Based on data extraction and synthesis, the overall effect size of chondroitin is large (see Reichenbach and colleagues' Figure 2; P < 0.001), although this conclusion is limited by the presence of heterogeneity among trials (I2 = 92%). Using meta-regression, the authors identified a subset of trials that provide homogeneity and stronger methodology, suggesting no effect on pain. The authors accurately state that ...